Once the first day's shopping is planned, the Bride should put some time aside to read all of the various Weddingsday articles that explain the different components of a Wedding dress (they can be found under the It’s All About the Dress article). Once this has been done, along with her shopping companion, the Bride should then spend a few hours scouring magazines and the internet for different styles of dresses. The idea is to see which ones appeal and which ones don’t, and to create a shortlist of things to look at - fans of scrap-booking could find that this hobby comes in useful at this stage!

The first visit to a dress shop should consist of trying on as many different dress profiles as possible (check out the Profiles article if you want to know more about them) - it should only take a matter of moments for the Bride to determine which profiles suit and which ones don't. That said, if it is a struggle, the Bride should try on a couple of dresses in each profile to try and make the decision. If after trying on multiple gowns in different profiles, a decision still can't be made, then it is time to be objective - out of the choices:

Which profile screams ‘Bride’ the most?

What profile is most practical for the Wedding

Which profile best sums up how you visualise yourself on the day?

What does the shopping pal and/or the shop assistant(s) think?

Bear in mind that if a decision is made to plump for one profile, but all day is spent thinking about another, then the answer should be pretty clear.